It’s been another vibrant week at St Michael’s, packed full of wonderful lessons and activities!
My assemblies this term focus on inspiring women from black history and so far, the stories of Wilma Rudolph and Mary Seacole have been shared. Both women faced many challenges, but showed impressive determination and resilience to pursue and fulfil their life goals. Bravery has been a key theme in these assemblies as both Wilma and Mary stood up for themselves and others, challenging those who limited opportunity and equality. Whilst our pupils were shocked at the injustice in these stories, they could articulate why learning about them is so important. True empathy and understanding of how “we can make things better in the future” was expressed superbly by the children.
Many pupils at St Michael’s have been taking assessments this week. This can be a nerve-wracking time, but we focus on the importance of understanding what we can and can’t do so that we know how to take the next steps with confidence and clarity. The testing environment at St Michael’s is supportive because our pupils know that progress looks different for everyone. By developing a growth mindset, we foster intrinsic motivation and openness to embrace challenges, learning from our mistakes as we grow. I would highly recommend Carol Dweck, Matthew Syed, Barry Hymer and Angela Duckworth as writers who give great insight into how the language we use can shape the mindset of the children, enabling them to understand that applying effort, embracing challenge and learning from mistakes will have a powerful impact on their success at school and beyond.
I’m sure, like me, you have had your ear on the national news this week and are aware that the Covid-19 situation is at the forefront of many people’s minds. We are, as you know, working very hard to continue to minimise the risk of the virus coming into the school community so that we can remain open to all pupils. Thank you for your patience with the ongoing adjustments to drop off and collection of the children; we appreciate your continued efforts in supporting the new systems in place. Our next development will be increased shelter for the pick up areas which will be welcomed on rainy days over the coming months. Thank you to the P & F for supporting us with this investment.
I wish you all a happy, healthy and restful weekend.
Mary Bridges